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Spanish football suspended indefinitely

Rubiales and Tebas at a meeting before the lockdown. /
EFE

LaLiga and the RFEF have agreed that all competitive football will be postponed for as long as the authorities deem it necessary

ÓSCAR BELLOT | MADRID

27 March 202016:39

The extension of the nationwide state of alarm for a further 15 days saw LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) agree on Monday to suspend all professional competitions indefinitely - "until the authorities consider that they can be resumed", and their return "does not pose any risk to health", read a joint statement.

LaLiga had initially on 12 March postponed the next two matchdays in the first and second divisions, one day after the Federation opted to cancel "all male and female non-professional football at state level" for at least two weeks as well.

No restart date

The statement does not establish a time frame for the resumption of professional football competitions in Spain, as this will depend on the evolution of the health crisis and the measures taken by the authorities.

The aim is that the ongoing tournaments can be concluded to reduce the financial losses of clubs, which also includes the Copa del Rey.

"Our only option is to finish the season. Before 30 June, perfect. After that, perfect. If we run out of time, we will have to look at play-offs or other formulas, but with the consensus of everyone. It's the only way for all the clubs to compete on an equal footing," said RFEF president Luis Rubiales a week ago, after the summer of 2021 was earmarked for the European Championships, due to take place across multiple host countries, thus freeing up the calendar.

LaLiga has already outlined to UEFA a number of possible scenarios which will allow the remaining 11 match days to be played when the action resumes. Although LaLiga chief Javier Tebas initially mooted a possible resumption at the end of April as the best-case scenario, even the most optimistic predictions now are centred on mid-May.

Clubs in trouble

Also on Monday, LaLiga showed yesterday its "total support to the clubs in the face of the serious situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic" and emphasised that "it will support, advise and help the coordination of their ERTE requests", many of which are now necessary because of the "considerable decrease of their activity" due to the suspension of matches or the closing of their stores.

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